I have conducted interviews and engaged in participant observation in classroom discussion and individual and group supervision sessions. I have also taught a number of classes on psychotherapeutic theory and practice online as part of the ongoing research.
Psychotherapy in China is undergoing a massive and rapid expansion. Although more short-term modalities, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy have more clients due to their promotion by government agencies and their relatively low cost, psychoanalytic approaches remain high prestige in China. They are particularly associated with young urban middle-class populations who have a degree of disposable income and are often looking for an arena to explore new ways of living that prioritise personal feelings and fulfilment.
Psychotherapy in China is often described as a practice that introduces a more ‘individualist’ world view or sense of self, that is variously portrayed as being a ‘Western’ or ‘bounded’ individualism.
Whilst therapy’s focus on personal feelings often leads to reflection on the importance of individual boundaries, one important finding of the research has been the extent to which practitioners are keen to stress its importance the importance of relations. Although therapy often provides a space for ‘traditional’ kinship obligations to be questioned, it is important to note that these are in a state of continuous flux, particularly as a result of socio-economic changes in recent decades.
Therapy provides a point of reflection on these ongoing changes as much as it is a cause of them. And as a point of reflection, it is often used to explore the possibility of negotiating different kinds of relations and connection instead of an individualistic rejection of them. Contemporary Chinese psychotherapy provides a space for young middle-class people to reconfigure their relations to self and other in a manner that cannot simply be reduced to Westernisation or individualisation. In the coming period, I will continue research online and to publish more material on the growth of new subjectivities associated with the spread of psychotherapy in China and across the globe.